This invention relates to fireplaces and particularly relates to a fireplace construction having a sound reducer for eliminating ambient noise from the flue system of the fireplace from feeding back into the indoor through the fireplace.
Commonly the smoke and exhaust gases of a fireplace are directed vertically through the chimney to the outdoor atmosphere. Usually the hot exhaust gases and smoke will rise vertically through the chimney without much difficulty. However, in some cases the exhaust flue or duct of the fireplace is provided in a horizontal position. This is particularly the case with fireplaces in a multi-storey apartment building. In such fireplaces, the exhaust flue above the fireplace extends substantially horizontally to exhaust through the side of the building to the outdoor rather than vertically upwards through the roof. Such horizontal flue is also commonly used in natural gas fireplaces and some central heating gas equipment. Due to the horizontal position of such flue system the flow of the hot exhaust gases and smoke through it is not efficient; and in order to enhance the flow of exhaust gases and smoke through such flue system usually an electric blower or a similar air mover device is incorporated into the flue system to create a desirable air current flowing from the fireplace to the outdoor so as to ensure that the exhaust gases and smoke from the fireplace are effectively expelled to the outdoor. Nevertheless,such blower and air mover devices are generally noisy, and the noise will feed back through the flue system to the fireplace and ultimately to the indoor to create an undesirable background noise in the room in which the fire place is located. Also, due to the relatively close proximity of the fireplace to the outside side wall of the building for the horizontal flue system, outdoor noise may also be feeding back to the indoor through the flue system and the fireplace.